We wanted to drop you a few lines and let you know what's going on with JUVIES and the awareness campaign we've mounted on the back of it.

We've had screenings galore from Hollywood all the way to Arizona and North Carolina, with audiences of 8 to 800. We had a California legislative screening sponsored by Senator Sheila Kuehl in Sacremento, prompting the Youth Law Center to write two bills aimed at helping our incarcerated juvenile population - sb 1151 and sb 1223.

Here's a quick calendar of JUVIES screenings:

June 7th - screening in Berlin, Germany at Conference on Crafting Together Against Right Wing Extremism, sponsored by the Ministry of the Interior

June 7th - screening in Vienna, Austria at Symposium on Youth Violence

June 11th, 12th & 16th - Human Rights Watch International Film Festival screenings in New York

June 14th - Boston premiere at Sanders Theatre in Harvard University @ 7:00 pm with Q & A with Dr. James Gilligan and others

July - in the pipeline: Washington DC premiere, and Human Rights Watch screening in San Francisco (more details soon)

Fall, 2004 - Open Society Institute Juvies School Tour - of 50 schools around the country

We're also honored to announce that Juvies has received two awards to date:

Beverly Hills Film Festival - Best Documentary Award
US International Film and Video Festival - Creative Excellence Award

Win some lose some:

We were working with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Non-Governmental Organizations Committee on Human Rights to present a screening at the United Nations on June 10th targetted at the international community and affiliated groups at the UN. Although things seemed to be moving ahead positively on the groundwork of putting the event together, the UN pulled the plug on proceedings saying that they had a problem with screening the film because "it focused on a specific country and it is their policy not to sponsor such events". We can speculate on this diplomatic response to no end. Our sense is that, at the present time with what is happening with the Iraq prison abuse issues and the ripple effects of that worldwide and here in the U.S., the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights sponsoring a screening that questions the U.S. juvenile justice system is too political and too high a risk for a multi-lateral, neutral, balance-holder like the United Nations.

Our vision was that, as we reach out at the grassroots levels, so must we reach out to the international movers and shakers at the big picture level, to drive home at every level possible, that this issue of juvenile justice is urgent and in need of attention from all of us. The UN experience indicates to us the timeliness and potency of our message. FYI, we have received requests for Juvies from Australia, Japan, Guam, Cuba and Poland.

So, it looks like the fight is really in our hands, folks. It's up to us to find smart, strategic and collaborative ways to blaze the trail and push this movement for change forward.

In peace and justice,

Leslie, Traci & Cynthia at Chance Films

"Oh children don't you weep if the road is long. All of us are prayers of action on our way to God."
Tom Rapp

Tinseltown heartthrob Mark Wahlberg will be back home in Boston June 14 to premiere a 60-minute documentary on something he knows a little something about - the juvenile justice system. "Juvies," which follows 12 youths prosecuted as adults from juvenile hall to adult state prison, will have its first showing at the Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. "Over 200,000 kids are prosecuted as adults each year in America," says narrator Wahlberg, who was himself prosecuted as an adult when he was 16. Doors rocker John Densmore and rapper Mos Defalso are expected to be on hand for the Boston premiere. Tickets are $10 and proceeds benefit the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

On Thursday night, May 27, at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time, California Connected will air a portion of JUVIES as part of their program. The show will be followed by a live chat online. You’re all invited to participate. Simply go to the California Connected website at http://californiaconnected.org and they will have a link on the home page to hook you up. Please pass this on to your friends and family as well.

"Juvies," a 66-minute documentary by filmmaker Leslie Neale, introduces you to the kind of teenagers we're supposed to be scared of.

Duc was 16 when he drove a car from which two gang members were shot at. Anait, 14, took two friends to a party where they fought and killed a third boy; she was arrested for driving the getaway car. Peter was 17 when he broke into a house and threatened the owner with a gun.

And here's what they received for sentences: Duc got 35 to life, Anait is facing 25 to life, and Peter has been sent to jail for 30 years. All three, "Juvies" persuasively argues, are victims of a legal system that shunts teenage criminals into the adult prison population instead of the juvenile facilities that could help them best.
Narrated and executive produced by local son Mark Wahlberg, the rapper-turned-actor who has long been candid about his own youthful criminal record (at 17, he served 45 days for assaulting two Vietnamese men), and featuring poems by the young prisoners read by rapper Mos Def, "Juvies" will play a one-night engagement at Sanders Theatre tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Wahlberg will be present to introduce the film, with a Q&A session after the screening. Mos Def is also expected to appear, as well as Walter McCarty of the Boston Celtics and Doors drummer John Densmore (whose main connection to the film, apparently, is that he's married to director Neale).

"Juvies" cites statistics indicating that violent juvenile crime has dropped 40 percent in recent years, yet man-in-the-street interviews feature passersby certain that it's "definitely on the rise. It's in the newspapers every day." There's the rub, say Neale and the experts she brings on: Media coverage of youth crimes has jumped in the years since 1996, when the Council on Crime in America called the upcoming generation of teenagers "a ticking time bomb, a national wolf pack of conditioned super-predators." According to the film, the author of that statement, Princeton professor John Delulio, has since recanted it, but California and other states have passed strong anti-gang laws that reflect similar thinking.

The result is that more than 200,000 "juvies" are prosecuted as adults each year, with many heading into maximum-security prisons where whatever is salvageable in them is quickly snuffed out. Indeed, the recidivism rate is 70 percent higher for teens than adults in prison, and their suicide rate is eight times higher than in juvenile facilities. Many turn to gangs, drugs, and sex to survive. "Sending a kid to adult prison is a death sentence," says Aaron Kipnis, an author who has a doctorate in psychology and is a former juvenile defendant himself, in the film.

Neale worked with 12 kids being detained at California's Eastlake Central Juvenile Hall, gave them video cameras, and followed their cases through court. Of the 12, 11 were prosecuted as adults, and most are currently incarcerated with sentences so long as to be beyond their comprehension. "Juvies" is openly sympathetic to their plight and compelling as it brings on parents and even victims to offer supportive testimony. Former Los Angeles DA Gil Garcetti, whose anti-gang initiatives are a reason many of these kids are in adult prison, speaks forcefully about his efforts being taken too far by a runaway criminal justice system.

The most wrenching voices come from the kids themselves. Some committed crimes that are hard to countenance -- at 16, Mayra shot and crippled her best friend when gang members ordered her to, for which you may not forgive her even if her friend has. Others are heartbreaking lost children: Sandra, a runaway who was raped and gave birth at 12, received 27 years to life for a murder charge on which she wasn't even the perpetrator.

Of the darker aspects of prison life, Sandra says, "I block 'em out as if they don't exist." Most of us go through life pretending that people like Sandra don't exist. For the length of its running time, "Juvies" makes it impossible for us to block them out

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of a Child has been signed by every country in the world except the U.S.A. and Somalia!!
What kind of company is that to keep? I have posed this question to many politicians over the years through e-mails and of course haven't received any responses. Thank God someone with the star power of Mr. Wahlberg has gotten involved!

The convention states that no child should be executed or incarcerated for life without parole.

Hopefully Mr. Wahlberg could get access to Sen. John Kerry and ask him directly about this situation.Because they will not listen to us "little people" we need someone of Mr. Wahlbergs stature to be able to see these types in person and see where they stand. Thank you.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, TRAVELING FILM FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 2004 TO MAY 2005

"Juvies" is honored and delighted to have been selected as one of 10 films to be included in their traveling film festival. The festival runs each year from September to May to approximately 50 cities in the United States. As soon as the schedule is made available, we will post information here. However, to find out more about Human Rights Watch and all their programs, please go to their website at www.hrw.org

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ZOINKS! FILM FESTIVAL, BOSTON, AUGUST 27-29, 2004

"Juvies" will be screening as part of this year's festival at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. For tickets or further information, go to www.zoinksfilmfestival.com. [At The Comedy Connection, Sunday at 4:50pm]

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2004 ROME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ROME, GA, SEPTEMBER 9-12, 2004

"Juvies" is proud to be an official selection for the 2004 Rome International Film Festival. As soon as we get screening times and locations, we will post them. In the meantime, check them out at www.riff.tv [At Desoto theater Sept 9th at 01:45 PM]

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BRECKENRIDGE FESTIVAL OF FILM, BRECKENRIDGE, CO, SEPTEMBER 9-12, 2004

"Juvies" will be screening as part of this year's festival. For tickets or further information, go to www.breckfilmfest.com. [Breckenridge Theatre on 2004-09-12 at 13:00:00 Individual tickets go for $8.]

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MALIBU FILM FESTIVAL, MALIBU, CA, SEPTEMBER 16 - 23, 2004

"Juvies" will be screening as part of this year's festival. For tickets or further information, go towww.malibufilmfestival.org. [Buy passes at Ticketweb.]

"Juvies" is proud to be part of this series of public forums on the criminal justice system. For further information on this screening or this organization, please contact them at www.ground-work.org

MT. OLIVE FILM SERIES, SANTA MONICA, CA, OCTOBER 9, 2004

"Juvies" will be screening as part of this series, so keep an eye here for information as we obtain it.

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BARCELONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS, BARCELONA, SPAIN, OCTOBER 14-24, 2004

"Juvies" is proud to be included in this festival. This year, the festival is dedicated to the Poorest of the Planet and will be held in 24 scenarios of the city, from theatres to cultural institutes. For more information, please go to www.elcinetedrets.org

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CENTURY CITY FILM FESTIVAL, CENTURY CITY, CA, OCTOBER 27-30, 2004

"Juvies" will be screening again in the Los Angeles area at this wonderful festival. The screenings will all take place at the Westwood Crest venue and more information will be supplied as we are provided with it. In the meantime, please visit their website at www.centurycityfilmfestival.com for further information.

i HAVE JUST STARTED TO RESEARCH INFROMATION ON KIDS WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE "JUVIE" FILM FROM TALKS WITH MARK WAHLBERG. I LIVE IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM. NEW MEXICO IS ONE OF THE TOP FIVE STATES WITH THE WORST CRIME RATE, INCLUDING GANG RELATED CRIME. I WORK WITH CHILDREN AND TEENS IN AN INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. I AM GETTING A SECOND DEGREE IN NURSING SPECIALING IN CHILDREN. WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MORE INVOLVED WITH YOUR PROGRAM?